Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

We are constantly bombarded with advice on diets and exercises. All day long we are exposed to a steady stream of fitness and diet information, such as the best equipment to use, the most beneficial techniques to implement and the super foods we should be consuming. It should not surprise us why so many of us become overwhelmed and choose against pursuing the path of nutrition and fitness.

I have often said that your first approach should be to simplify your efforts when embracing a healthy lifestyle. This is true for beginners as well as those of us who need to energize our current routine.
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Buddy Guy

Who would have thought that the blues and working out could be used in the same sentence? Well, if you choose your songs wisely, the blues can make for a good workout mix! While a lot of blues music can be somber, much of it is uplifting as well. Think of it as a liberating way of exercising your ghosts.

So without further adieu, let’s start singing the blues. Here is a nice little upbeat list of blues songs to take on your next run or brisk walk.
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Snooki looking slimmer in Italy

UPDATE 1/5/2012: Snooki is continuing to drop the pounds, reportedly weighing in now at 103 pounds, just 5 shy of her 98 pound goals. Polizzi is still using Zantrax and most would agree she is being paid for her promotion of the diet pills, with tweets like “Glad to hear reports that say I look good =) but it’s not because of HCG! Thanks @Zantrex!”

Snooki has lost so much weight it is spurring rumors that her eating disorder has reared its head again. Hopefully Snooks is following healthy habits in 2012, and her weight loss is healthy- well, as healthy as can be on a diet pill regimen.

Nicole Snooki Polizzi, better known simply as Snooki, weighed a reported 126 pounds last summer while indulging in a lifestyle afforded to her as a member of the popular show on MTV, Jersey Shore.

Since then she has shaped up somewhat, taking her tiny 4′ 10″ frame down to around 110 pounds. Before her recent departure to Italy for the filming Jersey Shore’s fourth season, pictures of a slimmer Snooki were revealed through her Twitter account.

It was revealed last year that Snooki struggled with an eating disorder in high school.

“In high school, I really wouldn’t eat,” she says. “I would only have lunch, and I would only have salads.” She dropped to a dangerous 80 pounds before realizing she had to do something about it.
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Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

It happens to the best of us: we lose our motivation. Some of us try to power through and never really fall into a slump, but if you are like me, you have to reach for something to pull you out and get back on track.

One of the tools I reach for when I start to feel like I might be slipping is visualization. I give myself permission to abandon reality and wander into some deep visualization. I use this tool all the time when I go to races. I dare to believe that I am a “champion” a “winner” and that I am equipped for whatever challenges lay ahead of me.

This useful motivational tool also works for me in my daily life when I simply envision myself as an athlete. I am already at my peak weight and performance and now all I have to do is maintain. Rather than give in to the thought that I am struggling to reach my goal, I empower myself with positive self-talk and visualization.
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Do you find yourself twiddling your thumbs or tapping your feet and fingers out of boredom? You may be taking part in what some experts call “incidental physical activity.” A study published last month took a look at physical movements people make that don’t involve formal exercise and what kind of role they may play in people’s health.

Some of the incidental activity they considered had more purpose than tapping toes, such as preparing dinner or pulling weeds in the yard.

What ultimately matters is, do these activities have an impact on our physical fitness? The key may be in something called VO2 max, which is a reference to the amount of oxygen a person can utilize during an intense exercise. While it is used to measure an athletes cardiovascular and endurance fitness level, it has also been seen as an important predictor of the risk for premature death.
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